Author's Note: This
is the sequel to my earlier Pokémon story "The Secret
of Valencia Island." For those of you who haven't read it, it's
about how Brock saved Vulpix from a nefarious plan that focused on
controlling Pokémon by means of transmitters. Brock saved the
day that time, but now a new plan has stemmed from the same source…
This sequel takes place early on in the Johto saga, at a point where
Ash still has Charizard. And there are a few references to the first season, as well as the Mystery Dungeon game. Disclaimer: these
characters are not mine, except for Amanda.

"I
think Togepi has the right idea," said Ash. "The faster we get a
move on--"

"The
faster you can get another badge," Brock finished for him, with an
amused shake of the head.

"Exactly!"
Ash agreed.

"So
I take it you don't want to stop in the next town for lunch?"
Misty asked.

"No
gym, no reason," said Ash. "Wait, did you say 'lunch'?"

"Yeah,
she said 'lunch'!" teased Pikachu. "As in 'food'!"

"So,
how far is this next town?" Ash asked.

"About
an hour, give or take," Brock replied, after consulting the
guidebook.

"So
we have another reason to get a move on!" said Ash.

Vulpix
sighed to herself. She was glad that things were normal again; Brock
had saved her from a twisted plan he had accidentally discovered
while on Valencia Island. Both of them had come to an agreement
never to breathe a word to anyone, but sometimes, the others would
take note how deep in thought she or Brock would get at certain
times. Vulpix and Brock were thinking about the same thing: what had
happened to the Pokémon on the island? Were they safe? Or
had they fallen victim to another evil plan?

"Vulpix?"
Brock asked, softly.

"I'll
be fine," she said.

"Hey!"
called Misty. "You're falling behind!"

"We're
coming!" Brock answered, he and Vulpix running after Ash, Misty and
Pikachu.

Not
too far from this scene, watching it, were Jessie, James, and Meowth.

"What
do you see?" asked the cat, able to speak in English.

"The
twerps are headed to the next town--" began Jessie, but she was cut
off by a loud yawn from James. She glared at him.

"What?"
he asked.

"Do
you have to yawn like that…?" she asked.

"Well,
pardon me!" he said, with a roll of his eyes. "Can I help it if
you get easily annoyed?"

"Are
you calling me irritable!?" asked Jessie, raising her voice.

"Wooooooobuffet!"
chimed a voice. "I think…"

"I
didn't ask you!" she quipped to Wobbuffet.

"Never
mind," ordered Meowth. "If we use the balloon, we can make it to
the next town before those twerps and capture Pikachu!"

"Jessie…?"
began James.

"Meowth
is right," said Jessie, ignoring him. "If we just--"

"Jessie!"
he screamed now.

"What!?"
she snarled.

With
a whimper, James pointed to the sky. Circling the area were two
large moth-like creatures, each nearly seven feet tall. They vaguely
resembled Venomoths, but were too large and too monstrous-looking.

"What…
what are those…?" James asked, in a whisper.

"I've
never seen anything like those…" breathed Jessie. "We've got
to capture them!"

"I'm
not going anywhere near them!" vowed James.

As
the argument between Jessie and James progressed, Ash, Misty, and
Brock noticed the creatures as they swooped down, blocking the
pathway to the town.

Misty
screamed involuntarily, her phobia of insects taking over her.

"Venomoths!"
exclaimed Ash. "But what's wrong with them…?"

Before
anyone could answer him, one of the mutant Venomoths spoke.

"We
have come for the Vulpix," it hissed.

Vulpix
gasped and retreated to Brock's arms.

"They
want Vulpix!?" asked Misty.

"They're
not getting her!" Brock vowed. "Not without a fight!"

"Right!"
said Ash. "Go, Pikachu!"

"Thundershock!"
yelled Pikachu, the bolts striking their mark.

The
Venomoths weren't the least bit weakened by the attack.

"Hey,
you guys, look…" gasped Misty. "Look at their necks! They
have weird transmitters on them!"

"It
must be Team Rocket!" accused Ash. "They must've done
something to the Venomoths and sent them to attack us!"

"Then
why would they be after Vulpix instead of me?" asked Pikachu.

All
eyes turned to Brock and Vulpix.

"She's
after me again…" Vulpix realized. "You… you all are
in danger because if me; it's all my fault…"

"No,"
said Brock, trying to stay calm, for he knew who had sent the
Venomoths after them. "You are blameless, Vulpix. It's all her
fault."

Ash
and Misty exchanged glances with each other and looked again from
Brock and Vulpix to the Venomoths.

"What's
going on?" asked Ash. "Who's after Vulpix?"

"Brock,
are you in some kind of trouble?" asked Misty.

Their
concern was genuine; Brock could see that. But could he bring
himself to tell them about the horrible secret he had uncovered on
Valencia Island? Could he tell them about how Ivy betrayed him and
tried to steal Vulpix for her cruel experiment? Ivy must have
created a new experiment, one she had used to turn these Venomoths
into monsters, and now she wanted to use Vulpix again. Brock was
afraid to ask why.

Ash
took action again. Summoning Charizard to battle the mutants, he
instructed Brock and Misty to leave while they still could.

"No,
Ash," said Misty. "I'll help, too."

And
she summoned Staryu.

"Take
Vulpix and go!" said Pikachu. "We'll be alright!"

But
Brock couldn't abandon his friends; Ash and Misty were like a
brother and sister to him. Summoning Zubat to use its supersonic, he
succeeded in confusing the Venomoths long enough for all of them to
escape.

The
group didn't stop their getaway until they were just outside town.

"OK,
what is going on here?" asked Ash.

Brock
told them the whole story about Ivy's plan, and how he had
befriended a girl named Amanda, who had helped him and Vulpix escape.

"If
it hadn't been for Amanda, I never would've gotten off that
island," he said. "She lives in the next town; I'm sure she'd
help…"

"They're
back!" screamed Misty, pointing to the Venomoths. "And they have
backup!"

She
was right; now there were five mutants circling the air above them.

"Why
aren't they attacking?" asked Ash.

"Stun
Spore; they're using Stun Spore!" yelled Pikachu.

There
was no time to run; there was nowhere they could've gone to escape
them. And they couldn't even move to summon a Pokémon.

One
of the Venomoths tried prying the frozen Vulpix from Brock's arms.
When it became clear that his grip on Vulpix was too strong, the
creature grabbed him, Vulpix and all, and flew off with the other
four following it.

It
was a full fifteen minutes before the effects of the Stun Spore began
to wear off.

"I
don't believe this!" yelled Ash in fury as he got his voice back.
"Those monster Venomoths got away with both of them!"

"Poor
Brock and Vulpix…" said Misty, tears in her eyes. "Ash, isn't
there anything we can do!?"

"We
have to find out where they took him…" he replied, summoning
Heracross. "Heracross, can you follow the dust trail of the
Venomoths that just left here?"

"I
will try my hardest," he vowed.

"When
you find out where they took Brock and Vulpix, let us know; we'll
be in the next town trying to find that girl Amanda."

"Right."

With
that, the beetle flew off.

"Do
you think Heracross can follow them?" asked Misty.

"I
hope so," Ash replied. "I'm counting on the fact that it
didn't take too long for their reinforcements to arrive to assume
that they couldn't have taken Brock and Vulpix far."